Four And A Half Hours

Ok... so I went on a bike ride this morning (5:30) and I thought I'll just do one loop of the Ironman course. Yes that was a huge mistake and was a little too far for my beginning stages. I don't know the exact distance yet but I am going to go drive it tomorrow to find out and I'll post it. It took me four and a half hours to ride it. Not record breaking speed but I wasn't going for speed. I had no food and only a 16 ounce bottle of Powerade. Another mistake. I did learn a few things from my ride however. Like take plenty of water and some food. Also after 3 hours of riding, my fingers went numb and I didn't know why until afterward I found out it was because I was putting too much pressure on my palms. My wise father-in-law told me that's a good way to get carple tunnel syndrome. (I think that's how it's spelled) So he gave me some good pointers about how to avoid that problem in the future. Thanks! I got light headed a couple of times from lack of water and food. I actually walked the bike twice for about 5 minutes each time to get my blood flowing back into my fingers because I couldn't feel the gears. Surprisingly my legs and butt are not sore at all. It was a beautiful ride... just a little too long. After getting home I ended up eating alot and taking a nap to get my energy back. I do have to say though that the downhills are really fun. Tonight Kristal and I went to Cafe Rio (heaven on Earth) and shared a salad. Then we went and saw the movie Letters to Juliette which was a very good movie. Tomorrow is my rest day but I'll let you know the distance.